A wide variety of goods are thermally labile and therefore need to be maintained above and/or below a target temperature to prevent spoilage, decomposition, deactivation, transformation, conversion, breakdown, etc. Exemplary thermally labile goods include blood, blood products such as red blood cells (RCBs) and blood platelets, transplantable organs, biological tissue, vaccines, antigens, antibodies, bacteriological samples, immunoassays, pharmaceuticals, enzymes, and single-use chromogenic thermometers.
Transportation of thermally labile goods is particularly challenging, especially when the thermally labile goods must be maintained within a narrow temperature range. Numerous insulated shipping containers have been developed over the years, with those deploying a phase change material generally providing superior temperature control over extended periods. A nonexhaustive list of United States Patents and Published Patent Applications disclosing insulated shipping containers employing a phase change material include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,145,895; 4,579,170; 4,923,077; 4,931,333; 5,626,936; 5,899,088; 6,209,343 and 6,718,776, and United States Patent Application Publications 2005/0188714; 2004/0079794; 2004/0079793 and 2002/0050147.
Insulated shipping containers employing a phase change material can be deployed for a wide range of thermally labile goods over a wide range of target temperatures by using different phase change materials. For example, H2O melts at 0° C., D2O melts at +4° C., a 20% ethylene glycol solution melts at −8° C. and a 50% ethylene glycol solution melts at −37° C. This permits use of insulted shipping containers for a broad range of thermally labile goods. However, packaging mistakes can occur when different thermally labile goods requiring use of different phase change materials are packaged at a single location, such as placement of thermally labile goods in an insulated shipping container charged with the wrong phase change material.
Accordingly, a substantial need exists for a straightforward, fool-proof system that ensures proper matching of thermally labile goods and phase change materials in an insulated shipping container.